Evil
in West: A culture plagued by the Class Prejudice

"India
officially recognises caste discrimination and has laws prohibiting
it, but Asian people living abroad continue to vehemently deny that
caste is a form of racism. There are no laws specifically banning
caste discrimination in western countries, partly because it happens
in secret and partly because it is practiced by law abiding citizens."

Zion
Lights

"I wish I had fallen for
a Brahmin", she said with all sincerity, shaking her
head in my direction. I murmured words of understanding and
shook my head back. My moral compass was shaking too.

Meet my friend Parvati*. We grew
up together in Britain in the late 80s and early 90s, and we
were not what people thought of as 'standard' Asian girls at the
time. We wore our hair short, had scabbed knees from constantly
running and falling over, and we expected more from life than
marrying men chosen by our parents. We did not always see eye to
eye on everything, but as is often the way with life-long
friends, we could both see where the other had come from.

Parvati and I were the
first females in our families to go to university. Parvati completed a
degree in teaching, and I had a thirst for travel and visited various
corners of the world. It was an exciting time for second generation
Asians, and the question on our lips was - what did fate have in store
for hardworking, independent Asian women?

Parvati often spoke excitedly about how
Asian women today were "free to do as they please; wear English clothes,
short dresses and skirts, go clubbing and drinking." She would give
examples of how free Asian women were now compared to back then.
"They are teachers, writers, lawyers, anything they want to be," she'd
say. While I agree that we have come a long way, I can't share her
enthusiasm.

This is because Parvati had been secretly dating the
same man for over four years. This independent and educated female was
terrified of the consequences if her parents discovered that she was in
a relationship with a low caste Hindu, because in Parvati's high-caste
Brahmin family it is forbidden for women to marry into lower
caste families. Here Parvati lost my understanding. How could she allow
what is essentially a form of racism concealed by religion to continue
through her own choices?

I didn't feel able to ask Parvati this question
aloud, but I did ask why she didn't just marry her partner. "They might
have him murdered", she whispered to me one evening over a bottle of
wine, shaking and tearful. "The extended family would laugh at us and
disown us, and they'd never forgive me for dirtying their honour. I
don't know what they might do in response to that."

A rare anecdote, you might say; an unlikely story?
But this is the story of Asian women around the world. Whether they are
living in India, Europe or the US, whether they are artists, lawyers or
doctors, scratch the surface and the thick residue of an old inequality
still remains. With their modern dresses these women wear a set of
rusty, confining shackles.

Another friend of mine, Chandra, who spent three
years secretly living with her Sikh partner while studying for her
degree, confided in me after rejecting a marriage proposal from the love
of her life. Her family are Jat, the wealthy, upper class caste
in Sikh culture, so Chandra knew that marrying a man of a lower caste
would be an unforgivable act. Chandra's partner left her, and convinced
that she would never find love again, Chandra had an arranged marriage
to a Jat friend of the family. She became bitter and reckless,
and was never quite the same again.

Parvati on the other hand, a stubborn woman who was
used to having her way, would not give in. She confided in her mother,
who, terrified of what her husband would do if he found out, begged her
to stop seeing the low caste Hindu. She pleaded with her and scolded
her. Bullied her and self-flagellated before her. But eventually, and
for the sake of saving her family's honour, Parvati's mother gave in.
She interrogated the impostor from the 'lower classes', who could not
tell her anything about his own caste background because his parents had
deliberately not taught him about it. This is typical of immigrant lower
castes, wanting to leave behind the inequality of caste culture when
they left their country of birth. They left for better things, after
all.

Parvati's mother conceded to a marriage based on
strict rules. One - the lower caste boy must learn everything about the
Brahmin way of life and take on the identity of a Brahmin;
change his name, create a fake family history, and take part in a
Brahmin wedding ceremony. Two, there must be no celebration for the
lower caste family, because that would be like laughing in the faces of
the Brahmin family who didn't know the truth. Three, no one
must ever, ever know the truth.

Parvati's boyfriend consented because he recognised
shackles that were bendable but, above all, held fast by decades of
prejudice and snobbery. Meanwhile Parvati worried there would be karmic
repercussions for defying every rule in the Indian woman's guidebook,
but she carried her burdens with her head held high, continuing to work,
make wedding preparations, and smile like a good Asian bride-to-be. None
of her non-Asian friends suspected a thing.

The lower caste family did hold a secret, un-permitted
celebration of their own. The groom's parents sat quiet and no one
mentioned the fact that only the groom's side of the family attended, or
that the bride was missing. No one spoke about the injustice, or showed
anger, or defended their apparently lowly selves from the sickness that
is caste. The Asian lower castes are a humble lot- and used to putting
up with their lot too.

One of my Asian friends was angry about it. "If this
happened in India", he said, "they'd all be put in jail." India
officially recognises caste discrimination and has laws prohibiting it,
but Asian people living abroad continue to vehemently deny that caste is
a form of racism. There are no laws specifically banning caste
discrimination in western countries, partly because it happens in secret
and partly because it is practiced by law abiding citizens; the families
I have mentioned are in no way fundamentalists, but proud
British-Asians, who have integrated into western culture well. Yet while
their religions teach tolerance, they suffer from a mental sickness that
gives them power, status, and control over others.

And there's no hiding from that. To avoid giving your
caste when asked denotes that you are a lower caste, and younger
generations cannot escape the shackles because Asian names can be
indicative of the family's caste- so those who cling to caste
inequalities enforce them on their children in this way.

I listen to my British Asian friends chatter about
how women are free to choose careers and fewer children, or no children
at all. How modern Asian men share the housework duties, change nappies.
But my question is - Are we really free to marry who we please?
Sadly, the answer is no. I fear we are a very long way away from that.

*Names have been changed for protective purposes.

[Author
is a Writer and mother
interested in feminism, ethics, and green living.]